Regional stations join the ranks of HD radio

When KRKO transforms itself from a small Snohomish County radio station to a big AM broadcaster later this year, it wants the message to be clear, literally.

The Everett operation, which broadcasts at 1380, plans to become one of the few AM stations in Washington to upgrade to HD radio, joining the ranks of broadcasters who are using digital technology and its promise of flexibility and clearer reception as muscle in the tug-of-war battle for your ears.

Known as NorthSound AM 1380 KRKO, the station is set to make the switch to HD this summer, when it replaces its 5,000-watt transmitter with one 10 times as powerful.

"The primary thrust of this entire deal is getting inside of all the homes out here and being able to reach commuters coming out of Bellevue and Seattle on their way home who live here," said Andrew Skotdal, KRKO president and general manager.

Since 2000, the station has been working on getting permission for the power increase and last month got the green light from King County Superior Court. This means its local sports programming will reach 1 million more potential listeners, the scope of advertisers increases and HD can be added at the same time at "no measurable cost," Skotdal said.

The station, which intends to keep its content the same, plans to go on the air in September with HD broadcasting.

HD radio in Washington

More than 20 stations in the state have HD radio technology.

Seattle/Tacoma:

KBKS 106.1 FM

Contemporary

Owner: CBS Radio

KBSG 97.3 FM

Oldies

Owner: Entercom Communications (in transition)

KCMS 105.3 FM

Christian

Owner: Crista Ministries

KFNK-HD1 104.9 FM

Rock

Owner: Clear Channel Radio

KHHO 850 AM

Sports

Owner: Clear Channel Radio

KING 98.1 FM

Classical

Owner: Classic Radio

KISW 99.9 FM

Rock

Owner: Entercom Communications

KJAQ 96.5 FM

Contemporary/rock

Owner: CBS Radio

KJR 95.7 FM

Classic hits

Owner: Clear Channel Radio

KKWF 100.7 FM

Country

Owner: Entercom Communications

KMPS 94.1 FM

Country

Owner: CBS Radio

KMTT 103.7 FM

Adult rock

Owner: Entercom Communications

KNBQ 102.9 FM

Country

Owner: Clear Channel Radio

KNDD 107.7 FM

Alternative

Owner: Entercom Communications

KPLU 88.5 FM

Jazz/NPR

Owner: Pacific Lutheran University

KQMV 92.5 FM

Rhythmic/AC

Owner: Sandusky

KRWM 106.9 FM

Soft hits

Owner: Sandusky

KUBE 93.3 FM

Hip-hop

Owner: Clear Channel Radio

KUOW 94.9 FM

NPR/news

Owner: University of Washington

KWJZ 98.9 FM

Smooth jazz

Owner: Sandusky

KXOT 91.7 FM

Public radio

Owner: Public Radio Capital

KZOK 102.5 FM

Classic rock

Owner: CBS Radio

Yakima:

KNWY 90.3 FM

Classical/NPR

Owner: Washington State University

Chehalis:

KMNT 104.3 FM

Country

Owner: Clear Channel Radio

Source: iBiquity Digital

In a time when one in four Americans totes a portable digital music device like an iPod, and tunes come in crystal clear through satellite or off the Internet, an industry that's been around for nearly 100 years is putting its faith in digital powers to keep it competitive.

HD radio, a technology created by iBiquity Digital in Columbia, Md., transmits digital signals over existing analog AM and FM signals. HD radio does not stand for high-definition, as it does in the HDTV acronym, or anything at all; but it has come to be associated with improved quality.

And quality is considerably better — radio programming loses its signature crackle, as FM sounds like a CD and AM comes in like good FM reception.

Receiver is needed

As opposed to some Internet downloads or Sirius or XM satellite, HD radio is free after buying an HD receiver.

Besides sound, one of the major advantages of HD radio is that FM stations can be split into multiple channels. This means broadcasters can at least double their content and paves the way to expand into new niche markets. For now, most subchannels are commercial-free.

An added perk, especially for AM stations (which cannot add multiple channels), is text displays — the station can eventually list song artists and titles, movie listings, traffic grids, stock listings and weather reports.

Clark Smidt, an Andover, Mass., analyst with Broadcast Ideas, said it's hard to say when or if HD will sweep the entire industry but insists that "content is king."

"Radio stations are investing in HD because they believe it's the future, and if they put a decent product on these channels, it will be more of a reason for you and me to buy an HD radio," Smidt said. "It's going to be the content — that's what's going to bring people in the door."

HD radio made its debut in the Puget Sound region with KBKS-FM in September 2002.

Three years ago, public-radio station KUOW 94.9 FM constructed a new antenna and 100,000-watt transmitter, as well as upgrading to HD using an $80,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Now there are 24 stations broadcasting in HD in Washington, and all but two are in the Seattle-Tacoma area, according to iBiquity. Of the Seattle-Tacoma stations, 15 offer multiple channels.

The only AM station broadcasting in HD in the state is KHHO 850 AM out of Tacoma, but within the next six months KUOW 1340 AM in Tumwater plans to offer it.

Skotdal, also chairman of the Washington State Association of Broadcasters, said the cost to upgrade to HD is anywhere from $75,000 to $700,000 for AM stations and about $235,000 for FM stations.

The big difference in prices is that AM stations often have to revamp their transmission sites or rebuild them to make HD work. But for some stations valued at several million dollars in Seattle, that sort of expense "is a drop in the bucket to upgrade," Skotdal said.

KUOW was also the first station in the area, and one of the first in the country, to push for subchannel broadcasting, said KUOW director of operations Dane Johnson.

Its second channel, KUOW-2, offers more news talk shows, while KUOW-3 broadcasts BBC World Service.

The cost of adding a subchannel is about $10,000 upfront, Johnson said. If a broadcaster wanted to offer that sort of additional content on terrestrial radio, it would cost about $500,000 a year to rent out a station in Seattle.

In theory, an HD station could support up to 10 subchannels, Johnson said, and KUOW would like to split into six or seven to allow for niche broadcasting — programs in foreign languages, for instance.

Little known

For all the possibilities, HD radio is still relatively little known. More than one-third of Americans said they were interested in HD radio, but only after reading a description of what the technology was, according to a 2006 study by Arbitron and Edison Media Research.

The majority of those interested in HD radio said they would be likely to purchase a receiver if it cost between $50 and $100, the study found.

Receiver prices exceed that now. At Radio Shack and Circuit City, original prices of models start at about $200. Last month BMW announced it would be the first carmaker to offer HD radio receivers as an option in all of its 2007 models — for an extra $500.

Driving force

Education will be the big driver forcing receiver prices to drop, Skotdal said.

The HD Radio Alliance, a group of heavyweight broadcasters backing the technology, announced it is plugging almost $250 million into promoting HD radio this year.

Glenn Johnson, a professor of broadcast communications at Washington State University, said getting the manufacturers of HD radio receivers to create affordable products will be a big issue.

"That's always been our problem," said Johnson, a former broadcaster in California . "Until you get radios along with it [the advancements], you always have a problem."

However, he thinks that the growing popularity of HDTV will help promote HD radio.

"This is a great technology to help the existing broadcasting and offer far better quality than they have been able to do," he said. "It will just take a little time for the consumers to get the equipment."

Skotdal predicts HD radio broadcasting and receivers will become a standard within the next five years.

"The one thing our industry has that XM and Sirius don't have is the ability to reach 99 percent of the public every week," Skotdal said.

"This industry has started promoting HD radio, started driving consumer demand. As more stations jump onboard, we're only going to hit consumer demand harder."

Christina Siderius is a freelance writer in Seattle.